Hi everyone!
ok so this is a story that I wrote for english. It's highlighting that Australia is about Mateship, a fair go and supporting the underdog.
Hope you like it!
We were strong and reckless as we ran along that afternoon. With the sun glaring down at us, we clambered over the rocks bare-footed. We raced though the dense clumps of trees and when the dust blew up around us, we just kept following the sound. It grew louder as we approached it. What started as a faint trickle was now a roar. And as we came around that last bend we saw it; a full, fast moving river. It must have been at least five times as wide as I was tall and deep enough for us all to jump in, if not for the obstacles. All through the river there were rocks and branches creating white foamy rapids that sprayed water up on us. “Wow.” Jess said.
“You can say that again!” Noah exclaimed. “This is bloody awesome!” Noah was the first one in, closely followed by Nick, James and Kim. Being one of the more cautious ones, I approached the water slowly. But the sun was so hot on my back I was soon entering the water. Behind me, I could hear Jess doing the same. The water was freezing on my skin and I could hear my brain protesting. But it was so refreshing to be out of the heat that I took a deep breath and went completely underwater.
,
Five minutes later, while the others were using lilos on the rapids, Jess and I were sitting on the bank of the other side of the river by a waterfall. Mist was spraying through the air creating a random rainbow effect all around us. Breathing in, I closed my eyes. I could smell the clear air and eucalyptus. It was like the beautiful smell that comes after rain but there, by the river, it never goes away. The mist was spraying gently on my legs and I remember thinking, ‘there’s no place better than this.’ I could have stayed there all day. Then I opened my eyes. I looked down at my knee and saw the ant milliseconds before it bit me. “Ouch!” I yelled, jolting Jess from her sleep next to me.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
“Ant bite” I replied, flicking it away. “It really hurts.”
“Maybe we should go back to camp?” Jess suggested. I almost said no. But the pain was only getting worse. I nodded and whispered “okay.” Sitting up, I tried to get back on my feet. But then everything went black.
“We heard a scream.”
“What happened?”
“Shhh…. She’s waking up.” My eyelids fluttered open and I made out five shapes around me.
“Ahhh...” I groaned. My leg felt like it was on fire.
“We have to get her back to camp.” I heard Kim say. “Can you walk Megan?”
“I told you! That’s how she fainted!” Jess replied.
“We’ll carry her then.” James suggested. I found the strength to talk.
“My leg…” I looked at my knee to find it had turned an interesting shade of purple. But it felt worse. Soon everyone was talking at once, throwing around ideas. They wanted to bandage my leg but since we were all in swimmers, they had nothing to use. I think I zoned out for a while until I noticed someone was talking to me. “We’re going to put your leg in the river Megan.” And they did. The water provided instant relief to the pain. It was still there, but not as bad. I could manage. Soon I was surrounded by people as they swam together, supporting me, from rock to rock. I had to use all my energy to keep my head above the water. I was puffing and wanted to sleep. But we had to get to the other side of the river. So I kept trying. Every breath took more effort and it wasn’t an automatic thing anymore. The only change I noticed when we got out of the water was the pain that came back to my knee. But I kept concentrating on breathing. In and out. In and out. I felt like quitting but somehow I knew that when we got back it would be okay. Mum is a nurse. Nick’s Dad is a doctor. So I kept trying. The voices around me were muddled but I could tell they were urging me on to stay alive and keep breathing. In and out. I was vaguely aware of the rocks and trees we were passing. I didn’t know who was carrying me but I was glad they were fast. We went around bends and I kept breathing. In and out. In and out until finally the trees thinned out and I saw tents. Moments later I saw people. I was placed on a bed and I closed my eyes. Because we had made it. By myself, I would have died at the river. But because of my friends, I would live.
